


Greedy Algorithms

by DisorientedOwl



Category: Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: Death, Empath, Empath vs sociopath, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mild Painplay, Non-Consensual Touching, Psychopathology & Sociopathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:35:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22523341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisorientedOwl/pseuds/DisorientedOwl
Summary: Returning a favor to an old friend, Electraceae helped Megatron escape Cybertron. When the new Council, led by Galvatron, comes into power, they accuse her of being sympathetic to the Deception cause. But rather than ending up in the hands of the Council, her prison transportation ship is ambushed by militarized fanatics and they have plans for the Autobot idol. With Cybertronian lives hanging in the balance, will she sing like an omnibird? Or will she stay silent to protect a stranger?Takes place in the RID Universe. Sequel to Hysteresis but not needed to read Triphase.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 11





	1. Electraceae Gets Rescued by a Sociopath

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Hysteresis](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11052162) by [DisorientedOwl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisorientedOwl/pseuds/DisorientedOwl). 



Waking up from stasis in a stasis pod disorienting because, to the ‘bot inside, time and energy seemed to pick up where they left off. Electraceae closed her optics in the prisoner collection area and opened them inside a deactivated and dimming stasis pod with a mech staring at her from behind a translucent door.

She knew it was a mech from the soft grumble. The door was stuck. She wouldn’t have to worry about how much time passed, they could sync internal clocks easily enough for those questions to be answered. Any other questions of what happened or where they were could be answered later.

Her main concern was that she couldn’t  _ feel _ the mech on the other side.

Electraceae fiddled with the dial on her audial thinking her inhibitor malfunctioned, but it was running optimally. She should be able to feel something. But feeling  _ nothing _ was...worrying and new. 

A knock came from the side and then a bang and the door finally popped open to reveal a Cybertronian. Or rather a Decepticon. He reached down and wrapped his servos around her, clinging her close enough for her to smell the gun solvent he used on his non-compliant muzzle. A Scavenger or a criminal then. He lifted her from the pod and she suddenly realized he had grappling motor attached to his back, probably to lift them both from the deep, mangled wreckage around her little pod.

The wreckage was once a ship but she didn’t recognize it. He made sure to hold her close as their legs dangled beneath them and all she could really do was cling to him and stare into his strange non-dilating optics.

Once they hit solid ground he let go and let her collect herself but didn’t step away from the range of her tightly collected field. Maybe it was the fluxing bridge effect, but she didn’t mind it. 

Soft digits traced the top of her helm before the full palm pat her reassuringly. Her helm raised and her visor met the dull red optics of the small Decepticon. He was mostly black, wore a mask and watched her carefully, making small deliberate movements. He put his fingers to her audial fin and gave it a little rub. She leaned up close to him, hoping that he would speak but mostly to see if she could feel anything. 

Joy. He was happy to see her. There was no mixture of emotions, no sympathy or pity; just pure unadulterated joy as if he was a friend or fan. He stopped petting her helm but kept his servo extended, at about her shoulder level. When she took it, he treated her gently, doing his best not to break her personal space at the same time as helping her balance as he guided her out of the bits of rubble.

“I’m Electraceae.”

She felt like she needed to introduce herself to the small stranger, well not as small as her, but he was still pretty small.

He pointed at her “Eleeck-tri-sea-eh.”

“Close enough.”

“Voss.”

“Vos?” She was confused, “Like on Cybertron, Vos?”

He nodded.

The rest of the ship was pretty damaged from the crash and Electraceae wondered what happened to the crew as she observed her escort. A muzzle jutted from his back like a flag of defiance; he wasn’t Cybertron compliant. The Council wouldn’t send non-compliant Decepticons to kill her, would they? They had so many opportunities to kill her, why now? When was  _ now _ ? 

“Can we sync clocks?”

She hoped it wasn’t an intimate ask but it didn’t matter. Vos didn’t answer.

A muffled noise came from outside the wreckage and she sank into the side of the Decepticon. He chuckled, an action she could understand, and she looked up at him in confusion. But he led her out of the wreckage to the nitrogenous meteor they landed on.

And she saw the crunched up remains of the crew on the ground in a mess of life metal and energon.

A mangled noise emitted from her voicebox as she quickly turned bumping into the mech who found her. He captured her by the shoulder but let her hide in his chestplating.

Whenever that monstrosity happened, it’d been recent and looked...intentional. 

A grumble from another speaker in a strange tongue but all she could hear was the soft noise of her insulator working to calm her fluctuating field. Occasionally, the Decepticon she hid in would return with a gentle rhythm of words. Electraceae had flashbacks to the first time she encountered Cybertronians. 

Her Decepticon gently pushed her away.

“No, please, Vos.”

He seemed happy about her begging, which repulsed her from the idea of asking him for protection.

When he let her go, her knee joints gave out and she buckled on the ground next to the pooled energon. She had to close her optics to help control her spark flux. The pedesteps of a much larger bot drummed next to her, stepping around her. The low bass of his voice returned.

Even though she couldn’t see much of him she could tell he was a warbuild, just like Megatron. Had he returned to Cybertron after the war? Had either of them? This one didn’t radiate any energon she could decipher easily. 

The warbuild squatted down to her level. A single digit trailed against her jawline, a gentle insistence she look up. Although she couldn’t decipher their emotion, her system relay could. She calmed herself in the ebb of their EM field and lifted her helm.

His faceplate mirrored the Decepticon insignia.

“Good day, Electraceae. My name is Tarn.”

She made sure to focus on his red optics and not the mess reflected in his faceplate. 

“Are you alright?”

She took a deep breath and lied, “Yes.”

Anyone trying to read her field would only feel his, the coding completed automatically. 

“Good, I’m glad to hear it.”

Every movement was refined, as if he’d practiced this moment his whole life.

“No need to worry. We don’t kill anyone we don’t need to. Your captors are traitors of the Decepticon cause.”

Electraceae looked to the left when he looked towards the mess of bodies. It didn’t matter, it was imprinted on her memory banks. 

“When were you forged?”

Electraceae stared at the ground next to her knees as she shook her head, “I wasn’t. I was cold constructed off planet.”

Tarn nodded, as if hearing it for the first time, “Rumors say you never chose your faction.”

Rumors? She’d never told anyone that except-. She turned to look at him, perhaps hoping to seek out an answer from him or the small ‘con standing next to him. She fixed on Vos who revealed no answer. 

“I didn’t,” she said, “I’ve had it branded on me for as long as I can remember.”

“You were in the war?”

“No.”

She couldn’t figure it out, he seemed to know as much as her close friends did about her. But he still asked for answers he already knew. Tarn pulled out a holocube. The image shimmered into being between them, it was a concert. Her concert.  _ The concert.  _

“Do you know who stands beside you?”

She took in another deep breath, “An actor, my company hired.”

A brief staccato of irritation, “To perform as Lord Megatron.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know who he is? Megatron I mean.”

“He was the leader of the Decepticons.”

“He is the leader of the Decepticons,” Tarn corrected, “Where did your company find this actor?”

Electraceae didn’t have a quick enough answer for that.

“You aren’t a good liar my pretty idol,” Tarn supplied, “We’ve already found a contact in your ‘company’ that said you provided the actor and, shortly after, went off world.”

She looked at her servos.

“Where is Lord Megatron?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t in the war.”

Tarn sighed in disappointment and stood back up to loom over her.

“We’ve freed you from your captors, it would be good manners to return the favor.”

“I am charged with disobeying Autobot law and was exiled,” Electraceae said, “I’ll be a fugitive hunted down by Decepticon hunters if I violate the terms of my sentence.”

“Where is your exile?”

Tarn spoke again and the ‘Con that found her went back inside. She sat in silence while Tarn patiently stood over her. She did her best not to look at her surroundings. 

When he did return, Tarn turned to her, “Poor thing, you’re so far away from your destination. How will you get there?”

“I don’t know," that was the truth. They would have to take her with them or she would have to try her chances with someone coming by the remote spot.

The smaller ‘Con hauled her up on her feet.

Tarn and Vos spoke again. She hated being out of the loop but she paid attention to the timber of their voices, the way they enunciated words of this strange new language. 

“Vos is sympathetic to your plight.”

She doubted that.

“We’ve agreed to take you on board our ship, the  _ Peaceful Tyranny _ and provide you with transport to your exile.”

Vos began to nudge her away and her gears kicked into reverse. She was glad it surprised them as her first display of fear. Although the lasting side effects to her action in their field made her want to transform and roll out as far away as Cybertronianly possible. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I need my fuel.”

“We have plenty of Energon to go around, as our guest you’ll be provided everything you need.”

Vos’ grip wasn’t something she could escape from without dents but she still talked to him directly. 

“Please, I need the fuel that’s in that ship. It was in the cargo hold, it’s yellow. Please, Vos.”

Tarn’s grumbling words rolled over her and she desperately continued, “I can’t survive long without it.”

It was Tarn that went back into the ship instead. Vos relaxed his grip on her when he realized she wouldn’t run. Her optics stayed on the open maw of the ship’s mangled hull. She ignored the way he felt right now, it was something she’d have to figure out later. 

When Tarn returned, she knew the canisters in his servos wouldn’t last her very long, especially if she had to route a lot of energy to her insulator. But if they were being true to their promises, she’d be safe soon, the Decepticon waiting for her off planet knew she needed a special fuel.

If they were being true to their promises.

“Will you come with us obediently?”

“Yes.”

There wasn’t much else she could say. What would happen if she didn’t? They’d take her disobediently? Her fender barely trimmed his waist plates. She had the benefit of speed from Tarn but Vos could easily meet her pace. 

They led her to their elevator point, the threatening ship hanging above them like a bad omen. It was anything but peaceful looking. A couple bots lingered at its beam. One had strange coils on his back and the other had a faceplate like an X. They were both warbuilds.

The one with coils spoke,“Tarn?”

“Kaon,” Tarn responded, “This is Electraceae, the Autobot idol. We’re giving her a lift to her exile point, she is a criminal of Cybertron and wishes to be brought to justice.”

He handed her fuel to the X bot, “This is Tesarus.”

“Very nice to meet you both,” Electraceae spoke politely. 

Tesarus snorted and walked away. Kaon didn’t say anything, he just joined Tesarus in the elevator field. Vos let her go to join him. 

Tarn reached out his servo and she realized she could run. The prisoner ship had stasis pods, she could hide and then slip into one after they left.

“Please.”

She didn’t realise she turned her helm to the horizon of the little rock they were on. He didn’t say it unkindly but there was a lot of unsaid words. Like ‘please don’t make me chase you down and hurt you like I did your crew’ or ‘please give me something to catch, I’m a predator without prey’. Electraceae listened to all the unspoken words before taking his servo.

He was a warbuild, similar in stature to Megatron. His insignia was his face with no hint of it being a decoration. Tank treads and the evidence of a high-velocity plasma cannon framed his rather large stature. She was too far out of her comfort zone to try and flirt her way out of fear. He had to lean in a sharp angle to try and hold her servo.

She pulled it away, “You don’t have to hold me, where can I run?”

It amused him, she could feel his intent now but he replied only with, “Welcome aboard.”


	2. Feel Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Not Beta-read**

They left her in an interrogation room. She assumed as much because there was a table in the middle with stasis cuffs on one side and any other use just made her anxious. They left her alone for a surprisingly long amount of time. Electraceae wasn’t sure if it was a tactic or just the assurance she had nowhere to go.

Finally, Tarn opened the door, acting surprised to see her still in the room, “You could have left if you were bored.”

“I’d only get in the way.” 

“Please, sit down,” Tarn took a seat across from where he motioned. She had to hop a little but she managed to sit.

“I would appreciate if we could become friends over your stay as our guest.”

“You didn’t have to kill those other ‘bots,” she said.

“Did you care for them?”

“I care for all children of Cybertron.”

“Despite not being of Cybertron?”

She tried not to feel angry with his words, this was exactly why she didn’t want anyone knowing she was ‘born’ off planet.

“If I knew they were so easily leveraged, I wouldn’t have killed them first. People don’t often sympathize with their oppressors.” Tarn leaned onto the table, “But enough about the past.”

Tarn pulled up a navigation chart on his computer and relief poured through Electraceae. 

“Show me where Megatron is.”

“I can’t read that.”

It wasn’t really something to be proud of. People tried to teach her many times but they seemed to not understand it wasn’t pre-programmed into her helm. Tarn registered surprise and then his strange energy field became an oppressive stuffiness in the room. Static buzzed on her visor and she winced before subtly turned up her insulators.

Not subtle enough.

Tarn snatched her forearm so quick she jumped back and almost knocked back her chair. She would have if he didn't keep his grasp.

“Your wheels didn’t reverse this time,” Tarn pointed out.

He didn’t let go of her forearm. He tried to pull her to him but she shook her helm and yanked back. He let go. She backed herself against the wall but that was like an invitation to be cornered, at least to him.

His EM field this close was overwhelming no matter how high her insulator ran. He knelt down to her level again, to make them optic to visor even though she refused his stare. 

“May I?”

“What?” She didn’t like how small her voice was.

“May I touch it?”

Electraceae nodded, not to say yes because really it wasn’t something she wanted to do. She nodded because there was no other option. He moved in closer and she instinctively pushed her servos against his chest, defending herself should she need to push him away. It wouldn’t really work out that way, she knew but he ignored it and thumbed the audial attachment that served as the dial for her insulator. 

“It’s a mod,” he chuckled, “How seamless. I would have never known if I hadn’t seen it. That is something new to learn about you.” 

Her engine kicked into overdrive. She would have to calm down or she’d overwork her insulator. A choice to overcome her repulsion or risk losing Ratchet’s mod. Electraceae flung her servos around his neck and did her best to ground herself into his receding field. She’d start spitting sparks soon if she wasn’t careful.

At her first lurch, Tarn grabbed her sensitive wheel well and she was certain he would have torn it if her action was hostile. His field spread. Normally his enjoyment would sicken her but she had to reprogram her anxiety so she just clung closer. Her inhibitor had to last long enough. 

“Forgive my impropriety,” Tarn soothed, removing his grip on her axle and returning the hug. 

The tension in her systems ebbed as the anxiety dissipated in his mangled field.

“What is the mod for?”

He practically whispered it in her audial, pulling her close to hear her soft answer. It wasn’t a pleasant experience but she focused on the coding.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Where was it made?”

“Cybertron.”

“Who made it?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“What’s your function?”

“I don’t know.”

That was a sensitive subject and she found herself curling into him, pushing her weight on him. In response, he lifted her up, treating her like a fledgling spark. 

“So many secrets in such a young thing.”

With their emotions synced she could easily give him the answers he wanted but the insulator was starting to work again. Luckily, metal to metal contact wasn’t his thing so he returned her to her chair.

“Good. Now, before I let you out into the ship I have a few rules for our guest. When you try and escape-”

She noticed he didn’t say ‘if’.

“- we’ll have no choice but to snap your left pede in half.”

Tarn gestured to the relative spot on his forearm as if it was her leg and she didn’t want to imagine how bad of a break that would be. It would certainly keep her from running. 

“If you threaten or harm my crew I’ll have to lock you away from them for their safety.”

She realized there was more to that statement than he let on. 

“I only expect you to provide us with the same respect we give you.” 

“I understand.”

“Good, pardon me, but I’d like to see you transform.”

She stood and jumped into her alt mode. 

“So it’s an organic alt-form? You weren’t issued another?”

She transformed back, “Yes, I was never reassigned an alt-form and then once I got famous it became part of my story.”

“The council allowed it?”

“I think they were still afraid of me then. Afraid I would start riots.”

She went back to avoiding his gaze, “Cybertron was in a delicate stage of regrowth when I started out. I think they thought I was a revolutionary.”

“And you’re not?”

“Not until the new council took over. Under their rule a lot of Decepticons were hunted down despite being Cybertron compliant. Conform or become a scavenger and neither were very good options. It’s like the council purposefully wanted Decepticons to become criminals. That’s why I wrote those songs. I just wanted people to be happy.”

“Was that when you met Megatron?”

“I never met Megatron.”

He kept trying to get her to slip up. How long before she did exactly that? Tarn stood up and went to the door. 

“You’re letting me go?”

“There is no need to keep you prisoner, we aren’t the Autobot council. As I said before, we’re merely helping you to your destination. The  _ Peaceful Tyranny _ is yours to explore.”

When Vos showed up with another ‘Con in tow, she put on a faux smile.

“Hello Vos, who’s this?”

She listened politely as he mangled her name. The new bot was cautious so she did her best to radiate happiness and positive energy.

“I’m Helex.”

His smaller arms reached out to shake her hand and Electraceae grasped it warmly in hers. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Helex looked and felt puzzled, as if no one ever said that kind of thing to him. Vos surprised everyone by greeting her with a hug.

“It’s okay,” she raised her servo to stop Helex and Tarn.

“Be careful what you give permission for,” Helex piped up.

“He’s already touched me,” Electraceae said, “Besides I got this a lot on Cybertron. He’s fine.”

Vos clung to her, pushing her flush against him with a servo pressed to the back of her helm.. Her pedes barely scraped the ground.

Tarn spoke lowly when the hug lasted too long and she dropped.

“Seems like Vos likes you.”

She wasn’t too sure if that was a good thing. 

“It was nice to meet you Helex. Good to see you again, Vos.”

“Electraceae will be refueling with us,” Tarn instructed, “So we may get to know each other better.” 

Out of all of them, only Tesarus had any warmth to his field and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. Especially since he was the one that ground up the crew. 

But Kaon’s was the worst. Vos at least got some sort of sick excitement from her. But Kaon was a black hole of emotions. He made her chest ache with the emptiness of his spark.

That wasn’t exactly true, when he looked at her she felt disgust, resentment and a tinge of jealousy. 

After the awkward gathering in the hall, they all filed into the strangest room Electraceae ever saw in her entire life, which was so far much shorter than most other Cybertronians. 

Tarn and all the others, Vos, Kaon, Helex and Tesarus gathered around two statues of Megatron. She had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing nervously.

They worshiped Megatron. Refueled with him and maybe even took all their routines with them. To Electraceae, he was just a lumbering old bot whose personality melded with others in her processor. He liked to read news-feeds and not stir up too much trouble. He wasn’t a war tyrant.

Kaon gathered the energon cubes and set them under each bot who thanked Megatron for it before taking their seat. Electraceae sat in front of an empty cube politely and waited.

“I know our faith was shaken at the false start of Cybertron’s rebirth. Ratchet and Earth team's lies about Megatron’s surrender are Autobot propaganda meant to deter us from our steadfast ways. Fortunately, we have a witness to the Lord's true departure from Cybertron.”

Electraceae pretended as if she didn’t get nervous from the few sets of cold eyes that looked to her. They waited expectantly but she had nothing to say.

Tarn continued his sermon, “Nevertheless, we continue to do the work of our Lord Megatron.”

Once he finished speaking, everyone took their energon and began talking, Helex and Tesarus to each and Kaon in low murmurs to Tarn. Vos, for his part, chatted with her in his strange language. She did her best to pay attention. Tarn didn’t refuel but rather stood up and disappeared for awhile. When he came back he had her fuel.

Electraceae quickly spoke up as he sloshed liquid into her empty cube, “That’s enough.”

Technically, it was only about three quarters of enough but depending on how all of this was going to go, she wanted to ration it. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I don’t consume that much.”

Tarn looked at the energon cube, only a quarter full, “We’ll find something else to serve you with.”

“Please, don’t trouble yourselves.”

Tesarus suddenly became interested in the topic at hand. 

He sniffed the cube as he pulled it toward him, “High-grade?”

“No, it tastes like it but it isn’t. It won’t get you buzzed,” Electraceae explained, “It’s an optimized fuel for high efficiency engine systems.”

“You have a hyperactive converter built in?” Tarn asked. 

Only one other bot ever guessed her personal specs.

“Yes.”

“Do you have a t-cog?”

“Yes,” Electraceae paused, “But it’s a two step.”

“A two step t-cog yet you can change into a four wheeler?”

She nodded.

“Interesting.” Tarn seemed overwhelmingly interested, but luckily stepped away from her so she could finish refueling.

Before Tesarus pulled away she reached for his hand, “Ah, Tesarus could I ask you a favor?”

Again, everyone seemed surprised that she was being just as kind as they were.

“Sure.”

He seemed put out she even asked now, but was curious enough she felt it safe to continue.

“Can we sync clocks?”

“Oh uh,” he looked at Tarn who met his optics and nodded, “Yeah sure.”   
  


She held out her arm computer and pinged a request. She hoped it wouldn’t give him nightmares. 

Refueling was never a social event for her. People asked too many questions about her strange fuel and now that her clock was synced, she had something else to think about.  Her internal clock wasn’t that far off. Which meant her prison transport crashed...or was attacked rather close to Cybertronian air space. For a group of criminals it seemed rather bold to make a move so close to a well trafficked area. Did the Council send them or were they really just Megatron fanatics, desperate to see their leader one more time.

And what about Ratchet? They said Ratchet lied about Megatron but she thought they were ''friends''. 

She downed her fuel in one gulp, grimacing as it fizzed in her system. Everything was so confusing and relied on a history she knew nothing about. 

Vos pet her head, the energy passing between them bringing her back into focus.The vibrations of emotional energy that rippled from them was enough to make her recoil. It brought everyone’s attention back to her.

“Vos, attend to our guest.”

“No,” she didn’t mean to shout, “I’m fine. Sorry for bothering you.”

She knew she shouldn’t feel like she was troubling her kidnappers, but they watched her wobble up with too much focus. It was Tarn that finally steadied her.

Kaon radiated out that subtle metallic tin of jealousy. Experimentally, she leaned on the bigger bot. A mistake, she was already overwhelmed, she didn’t need to overload her receiver with more emotion.

“Perhaps we should take a break. We’ll continue later.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Electraceae knew she wasn’t safe here, but what she felt contradicted the way they were treating her. 


	3. Sleeper Agent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Not Beta-read**

Once she got into the room, which was far too big for her, she found a small place to cram herself in. Curling up with her knees drawn to her chestplating.

She missed Ratchet. She missed her home and having the massive throng of people all feeling around her to drown out her loneliness and feelings of not belonging. How long would the insulator last? Or the inhibitor for that matter? There were so many questions Electraceae was too afraid to ask herself. Why did they want to know where Megatron was? Was it to revitalize the Decepticon cause? Wasn’t Megatron done with all that? He’d seemed done when she met him. 

When she shuttered her visor she still saw the fading energon glow on the ground, dripping from a mangled limb. 

A light flicked on, a momentary cursory glance didn’t reveal her presence.

“Electraceae.”

She tried not to sound miserable, he wouldn’t be able to really force her from where she wedged herself under his computer, “What?”

“I thought you would be in recharge.”

What was he planning on doing while she was in recharge.

He seemed to sense her disquiet, “These are my quarters, I forgot something. Never mind that, what are you doing in there?”

“I don’t feel-“

There was a lot she didn’t feel but admitting that and expecting even sympathy was foolish.

“Welcome?” Tarn finished.

“No, you and your team have been so kind,” she spoke from beneath the console, “Why am I sleeping in your quarters?”

“For my crew and your protection.”

“Are they going to kill me?”

Tarn sighed and searched his processor there, had to be some way to explain to her the merciless killing and how it was needed. “Have you ever heard of the DJD?”

“No,”

“The Decepticon Justice Division,” Tarn nodded sagely, “Not even your Decepticon friends.”

“No,” she gave the tired response she already did, “why don’t you tell me what it is?”

Tarn hrmmed until he finally pointed to the berth, “I’ll tell you but only if you come out and try to get some rest.”

Electraceae nodded and crawled out from beneath the console. Tarn didn’t try and capture her but he still clung close and when she approached his berth he helped her up gently by clutching her waist.

“Megatron established the Decepticon Justice Division to execute his cause, the Decepticon cause and punish those who violate those principles.”

“Sounds neat.” 

She felt it humored him. But she felt even more uncomfortable with him hovering behind her, “I’d feel better if we talked face to face.”

“Apologies.”

He crawled onto the berth awkwardly and she bit her tongue as he reclined. 

“Electraceae,” He told her, “Myself, Kaon, and the others? We’re the D.J.D.”

“Oh.”

“We only kill those who defy the Decepticon cause. You have nothing to fear.”

She felt otherwise. The very miasma of this place was making her crazy. Her usual tactics weren’t going to work. The last thing she wanted was people like this to love her.

“Earlier you said you didn’t have a function.”

Electraceae put her helm down, dodging his question.

“You may not have a function but you have an ability. It’s been quite effective against some of my crew.”

There wasn’t anywhere to run while she was in his room,“It’s not intentional-”

“Little song box,” Tarn clucked, “We already know you are a poor liar.”

Electraceae fell silent.

“It’s worked wonders on everyone but myself. I think Kaon even feels it. But I don’t seem to be very enchanted.”

“You have a different energy frequency,” she told him. 

“I’m powered by Nucleon. But you wouldn’t know what that is. You’re far too inexperienced.” Tarn continued, “Could I ask you more about your abilities?”

“I don’t know as much as you think.”

“Could you make my crew feel loyal to you?”

“Loyalty isn’t really an emotive state,” she explained, “I can reflect and expel emotions to amplify the way a ‘bot is feeling.”

It wasn’t a total lie. She could do more without her insulator but she didn’t exactly want to do more. 

“What did you feel from Vos?”

Electraceae vented, “When there is metal to metal contact I can sometimes get...visual stimulus in association with emotional data.”

Tarn lifted his servo to her and she delicately placed her hand in it. 

“You’ve been shaking for awhile now.”

Uncontrollably so but it expelled her anxious energy without shorting her mod.

“Do you want to come closer?”

Not really but she knew it was part of his game. She maintained visor contact with him as she curled up next to him. He reclined back with her but she made sure that they weren’t facing, instead she tucked herself into him, using his arm as a servo. 

“Is this for visual stimulus?”

“You said I had to rest.”

She realized he didn’t know as much about her as he thought. Anyone close to her knew why she needed to be close to others when she slept, but Tarn didn’t know. 

“All these things about me and yet you don’t know everything,” Electraceae asked cautiously, “Was it a Decepticon who told you?”

“You shouldn’t ask questions you wouldn’t like the answer to.”

“Did you kill them?”

“Yes, but I can’t recall who they were. It was an Autobot, not on our list. He made a last minute effort to stop us from attacking his friend.”

It was a lie. Electraceae didn’t get on with many Autobot mechs. But he still had information about her that not many people knew, a fraction of what he said had to be true. Her bodyguard was Decepticon and male but he was still on Cybertron.

It couldn’t be the medic.

“Do you want to know how we got our information from them?”

She didn’t, she really would never want to hear how they got the information because something in his tone and field made her know it wasn’t a pleasant story. But she would do anything to get that sick joy he was experiencing as finished as possible.

“Yes,” she lied.

He pressed her servo on her chest plate, trapping her frame to his. He nestled his helm right next to hers. She wished she hadn’t told him about the visual data. Once he was sure she was secure he slid another servo along hers to point at her digits.

“First we clipped off the top of his digits right here.”

He indicated the top, midway before the joint but she could feel it. She closed her optics behind her visor.

“Then,” his low guttural tone in her audial probably would’ve been exciting if he wasn’t detailing torture to her, “he still wouldn’t tell us anything. So we broke his digits at the third joint here.”

When she squirmed he pressed on her chestplating. For some reason, beside the visceral imagery her spark was starting to feel a bit off.

“Interesting,” Tarn murmured. Before she could ask ‘what’ and desperately change the subject he continued, “Of course then Helex wanted to play with him and people get very talkative once Helex gets involved. Because he slowly and very carefully-“

“Stop,” she struggled against his servo, “Stop it’s enough. I get it. It was a drummer friend of Starbolt and you probably killed her too.”

But it was exactly what he wanted to hear. She could feel that, he wanted her to be broken up into a bunch of different pieces and if he couldn’t do it physically he would do it to her processor.

His voice penetrated her metal, “Where is Megatron, little songbox?”

“I don’t know,” she tried to calm the flare in her spark. She didn’t want to know what Tarn was like angry, “I don’t know and if I knew I would tell you, I promise.”

He loosened his grasp on her and she pulled away as fast as she could practically falling off the berth to get away. .

“You didn’t have to do that. You didn’t have to kill anyone and you didn’t have to do that to me.”

Her inhibitor warned her that her emotive state was getting too high again but she wasn’t going to ask for him to get close to her. In fact, she’d like to be as far away from him as universally possible.

“I don’t know what the Decepticon Justice squad is. I don’t know about Megatron, I barely know anything about myself.”

She was having a breakdown. Luckily she was still cognizant enough to lie.

“I definitely don’t know anything about you and you know all of my secrets. And I’m scared that you are all just,” she couldn’t quite explain the feeling so she chose the next best word, “Lusting after my death.”

“You’re mistaken,”Tarn soothed, but it would be more believable if she couldn’t feel the excitement blasting off of him.

“It’s just a lot to feel all at once.”

“I understand, but you have my word. I’ll keep you safe.”

Tarn seemed to be waiting now, for her to run, for her to leave so he had an excuse to mangle her.

“And when we get to Paradron?” Electraceae clutched at herself, “What then?”

“We will release you in the care of the Autobot Council, there’s no reason to keep you with us.”

She couldn’t believe him. They wouldn’t just let her go.

“And you won’t kill anyone?”

“Not unless they’re on our list.”

She shook her helm, she didn’t believe she had to ask for this. But without someone there to make her feel better she would have nightmares, which could potentially affect the whole ship. 

“Will you stay with me until I go into recharge?”


	4. Semi-Graphic Depictions of Violence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **not beta-read**

And surprisingly enough, Tarn kept to his word. 

He didn’t pressure her to mingle with the crew, which was probably best since they made frequent stops.

Except when they refueled.

It wasn’t like she wanted them to hurry to her exile. She wasn’t too sure what the plan was but she didn’t just expect them to leave her there. They’d probably watch to see if she alerted someone...or worse, if she got deliveries from Holostrike from her home planet. She just had to be careful, it wasn’t like Megatron would come looking for her. 

But the way they all seemed to get a second kind of meal when they watched her calculate how many rations she had left during refueling was starting to make her want to say something. 

When the first canister expended, it was Kaon that casually asked, “How many do you have left?”

And Electraceae answered without thinking, “Six.”

Then Helex and Tesarus exchanged glances and she knew it was a mistake. Vos, once he heard the translation provided by Tarn, responded.

“What happens when you drink Energon?”

She gave her practiced coy smile, they weren’t the first to ask, “I don’t think you want to see that side of me.”

Luckily, Tarn agreed with her. He metered out her fuel with a small mark on the side of her cube and kept to that. Maybe it was because he was the one that monitored her sleep.

* * *

Electraceae woke up in the cold of an empty berth. It wasn't uncommon in her stay as a guest of the D.J.D. 

She didn't have to guess what Tarn and the others did when they went out of the ship. Tarn was polite enough to clean up afterwards but the others didn't or wouldn't remember. Once, during a refueling, Tesarus' cogs were covered in bodily energon. That vision brought back the visceral imagery from their first meeting. Maybe that's what woke her up now.

A strange groan of metal startled her and she sat upright in the berth and froze.

At the end of Tarn's berth was a misshapen form that made her spark crackle with fear.

"Hello?"

The only response came with a creak of metal and low transformation trigger tone stuck midway. Electraceae turned down her insulator. Everyone else was in recharge or not nearby. 

Except Tarn.

It had to be Tarn, his energy signal was too unique. There was no reason to help him now. She could even try to get free now that everyone was in recharge. She remembered the threat of a broken pede. But it wasn't in her programming to push away someone who needed help. She slid down off the berth, her pedesteps alerting the misshapen form to her presence. 

Electraceae took a deep breath and smiled a closed mouth, soft smil before turning down her inhibitor. 

"Tarn," she soothed, "What are you doing up?"

Something like a growl emitted from the 'Con but she wasn't sure if it was him or his metal straining.

She spoke evenly, doing her best to be soft and calm, "Hey there big guy, can you get out of this? Can you transform back?"

When he didn't answer she placed a hand on what she believed was his mistransformed pede.

"Tarn."

Still no answer. She took a moment to flex her digits before placing another reassuring palm on him, "Tarn...you know Megatron - Lord Megatron, I mean - would be so proud of you. Of how you've carried on even though so many have abandoned being Decepticons. But you, you've never strayed from the path."

She mimicked words he used during their recharge and occasional conversations. The comforting lie was good enough, his pede fully transformed. She didn't let the relief ebb into her field. 

"Tarn, you and you alone have led these few brave Decepticon warriors. You may feel overwhelmed now but it is a test of faith and I know you'll pass." Electraceae continued on like this, encouraging him with a low cool voice until his frame finally settled into robot mode.

He ran hot from the strain and looked at her with wide red optics. 

"You only had a nightmare," he panted out. 

Before she could ask what he meant he quickly sank to his knees.

"Tarn?"

"Hmm?"

She breathed in, "Are you alright?"

He didn't respond until she placed a servo on his shoulder. Even then he just turned to it. After several clicks he stood, knocking away her servo, "It was only a dream."

She opened her mouth to question what he meant by that but he suddenly grabbed her waist. The squeak that came from her didn't make him laugh like it normally would. He picked her up like a weapon...or a tool. Tarn dropped her onto the berth before walking to his console.

Electraceae sat up and moved to slide off the berth again, "Maybe I should selep someplace else. I wouldn't want to disturb you with more of my nightmares."

"No." Tarn almost dented her chestplating pinning her to the berth, "You stay."

Her visor dimmed and she noted his optics weren't as focused and clear as normal. So she took up a soothing tone again, "What do you want me to do?"

"Get closer," he pulled on her arm childishly. 

She obliged him for now. He kept his grip on her arm but brought himself back to the console where he clumsily slide a digit under his faceplate to dislodge it. When he turned it was a whole new person staring back at her. He had a scar and she hand to consciously keep herself from touching her visor. It mirrored her own damage but both his optics were clear unlike her two toned ones hidden under the visor. It also looked as if his was better repaired. 

She smiled and covered up her jerky hand movement by reaching up to his faceplate, he leaned down to let her trace the lower edge of his scar.

"You know you're really my type."

The words slipped from her instinctively and she had to hope he couldn't feel the flicker of panic in her field. She kept her smile delicate and happy. She'd said it to many 'bots before this. If Tarn felt the panic he didn't respond but he did lean foward further to whisper to her, "Was Megatron your type?"

"From what I've seen in the history vids," she said coyly, he wasn't going to get her to slip up, "But I think he's into older 'bots. I don't think a warlord would touch something like me."

She smiled at him and something caused him to misunderstand.

"Just because your frame is treated with respect doesn't mean they don't want it. You shouldn't lay a servo on those you don't deserve."

"You would know him better," she said cautiously. 

As with most things, the comment came with mixed results. Electraceae's wheels reversed again as his pede came on the berth next to her. She jerked away her servo with surprising force and her pedes kicked out.

"Interesting," Tarn watched as she crawled to the head of the berth, "Your reaction is when you have a perceived threat, not necessarily a physical one."

She'd let him believe that as she watched him warily, "Is this still a nightmare?"

"Yes."

He crawled across the berth two her and she gently slid two servos on his chestplating. When he got too close she resisted. It wasn't as if she could stop him. She was at his mercy. But he respected the gentle pressure for now.

"You're being rather kind to me. Normally you enjoy toying with me."

"Allow me a moment of weakness."

"Kindness isn't weakness."

He chuckled at her words. She wanted to be angry but his presence over her was an oppressive force that contradicted any outburst. Was she being punished for seeing him like that?

"Megatron," she watched as his optics glowed brighter and continued, "How do you tell him of your...what happens outside the ship?"

"We broadcast it to a private frequency."

"Oh wow," she exclaimed softly, keeping one servo on him to keep him away but lightly brushing his helm with the other. 

She thought it would make him pull away but instead he hunched over her more, his servos supporting his frame on either side of her. It was like he was doing pushups. Electraceae couldn't help feeling irritated about their difference in size but she ebbed those feelings away quickly. 

"You're so dedicated," she'd perfected the art of sounding genuine eons ago, "Especially to the Decepticon cause. Most of my friends didn't talk about it. But you seem proud."

"It's endless, there are too many traitors now," he murmured to her leaning in close.

She didn't flinch as his movement this time, "Who else would do it?"

He didn't answer but eventually he lifted a servo to rub her audial fins gently, "Vos likes to touch you like this."

She flinched that time, no one as big as Tarn touched the delicate machinery before and he was touching her actual audial fin. 

"I thought that was normal for him."

"It is not."

"It's something my friends would do to comfort me," she told him, "I am over-familiar with Cybertronians. Organics from my planet liked to touch each other. They'd greet each other with a hug and kiss and holding hands was normal. When I came to Cybertron I realized people...ah, 'bots weren't as intimate. So they allowed me a few luxuries where they could."

After a moment she asked, "Did you watch me on Cybertron?"

"Not you."

Right one of her bodyguards probably. 

"How?"

The question irritated him so she back-pedaled, "I mean, to slip into Cybertron with non-compliant forms. That's almost impossible but you did it. That's amazing."

He relaxed, sagging over her and she quickly amplified the feeling between the two of them. She felt the tension in her shoulderplating dissipate and she finally leaned back against the berth.

"Your mod."

He rubbed the bottom of it now, was he going to bother her all night? Now he was way too close. She didn't sleep facing him unlike her usual berth mates so this was new. It had been since her first arrival since his helm filled her field of vision. The feeling made her feel dizzy.

"These things you're telling me about Megatron, are they true?"

"Of course," she lied, propping herself up on her elbows.

He pulled her up suddenly and her spark fluxed.

"I mean just look at everything you've accomplished."

"There is so much more to do."

"But not right now."

His servo traced lines on the back of her helm. She sighed and leaned back to the berth, he allowed it and she turned her helm to the left side first.

"There are two dials," she pointed at them, "One insulates me from others and an inhibitor that protects you from me."

"What?"

She showed him the loseness of the mod dial then turned her helm to show him the other side didn't move. He reached forward but she spoke quickly.

"I can't say no to you but I can't show you what's under this. It'll effect me as an idol."

She said it as cutely as possible but it still irritated him. She recovered quickly, "Why don't you tell me more about your relationship with Megatron? What do you even tell him in reports?"

"Would you like to hear one?"

She nodded. 

Electraceae listened to a surprisingly boring rendition of a skirmish. It was oppressively boring. But as she felt him begin to touch her shoulder plating she realized it was probably more than just his voice. She felt like her limbs were moving through oil. If pushing him away was possible before it wasn't anymore because her limbs felt full of anti-matter.

He finally lay down, turning her to face him. Her optical feed became full of Tarn's red and her sensory net could only feel his palms ghosting across her metal. Sometimes, his face came too close and she placed delicate digits on her own lips. His constant melodious drone made her feel as if she was flooded with energon. It became more and more difficult to remember whose servos she was in. In the red optics before he she sometimes saw Megatron, not as she knew him but similar enough. Sometimes, Tarn would return and rarely it would be the face of the Scavenger Decepticon that tried to kill her. But she was trapped at the edge of recharge. Every time Tarn closed in she roused but after more gentle touches and soft murmurs he lulled her back to a half-lucid state. 

Once, when he pressed his servo firmly on the small of her back the shock of the connection brought her fully online. She tried to push him away for real but he clung to her. He changed his murmurs to soft apologies and reassurances that his emotion wasn't directed to her. Tarn softly demanded forgiveness with his oppressive energy. His forehelm touched hers and her digits darted to his lips for the first time. A vice-like grip closed on her wrist and he licked the side of her servo with optics that told her more than she'd like to know. A hazy thought he would eat her faded with his soft psalms for her to sleep and for Megatron to return. Her processor succumbed.

At some point in her recharge cycle she woke up to him leaving the berth. He returned his faceplate to his helm before leaving her behind. 

But it still left her wondering if it was her nightmare or his that left him so misaligned. She turned up her inhibitor and fell back into a more peaceful recharge. 

* * *

Electraceae knew she was affecting them as much as they affected her. Helex would hum snippets of songs she only sang alone. Tesarus mumbled lyrics in out of tune chants and frequently got stuck so long Kaon snapped at him. Slowly she would come out of the room and take notice of the little changes. Tarn noticed too, but he ignored it. No one could understand her greedy algorithms that brought people to her. She barely knew about it other than the inline programming that went through her frame that demanded she never be lonely. 

Vos was the only one who was overly friendly. Maybe it was her size, everyone else was about the same size and Kaon didn’t keep her company. Especially if she got too close to Tarn. But Vos seemed pretty excited with his task of teaching her to read a starmap. What the leader of the D.J.D. was thinking when he assigned him to her was unknown. But the way he’d _accidentally_ brush his long digits against her servo when he pointed things out. 

But she was learning, that was the problem. When he pointed to an empty space and slurred, _‘Heeere’_ she could understand they had made clear progress. He would point out where they were going and where they’d been. There were clear roads and routes between systems. Even if it was another language, Vos seemed to know exactly how to communicate visually. But Vos gave her something in exchange. 

It had been a day when her system finally synced the light distance formula. Numbers were easy enough to convey and Vos was genuinely excited in a new way, the first real crisp emotive state she received from him. He hugged her firmly. She hadn’t even noticed him tracing her jawline as she babbled that she _finally_ learned something about space. 

And then Tarn said _the word_.

It was in whatever language Vos spoke and his helm immediately turned to Tarn and then looked confusedly back at her and pulled away.

Tarn spoke again but Electraceae didn’t pay attention. She whispered the word to herself, understanding where it rose in timbre and when it fell into a deep tone. When she was alone she spoke it to herself, repeating it over and over again. It was an order to stop. With enough intent on it, she was sure she could will it into existence, even if it was just once. 

Tarn called her to the bridge a few days later, and she took a note of the passcode there. Bridge’s were the strongest part of the ship. 

“Looks like you’ll be leaving us shortly.” 

“Oh.”

“We were wondering if you could hail them. Our uh...ship is very _weaponized_ you understand. And we aren’t exactly a friendly sounding group of people.”

Electraceae nodded and Kaon opened communications.

“Tower to inbound, state your codes.”

“It’s Electraceae of Cybertron,” she spoke clearly.

“Electraceae? By _primus_ , they were sure you were dead. Who attacked the ship?”

She hesitated, she knew that voice from somewhere, how much could she say? Tarn was watching her carefully, she wondered what would happen if she said something he didn’t want her to.

“I was in a stasis pod,” she said simply.

Tarn bent down and whispered softly in her audial. Dimly, she heard the tower asking her if she was still there. Tarn placed a servo heavily on her shoulder.

“Tell him you’d like to land.”

“Tower, do we have permission to land?”

“Sure, but I’m going to need those codes and a visual scan of the ship. But then again, you’ve always been bad with technology.”

It was Silverwing, one of the first Decepticon’s she ever met in her old days where she would just wander into places with good energy and sing. He helped her become a council sponsored idol. He had respect with them because he was the first to accept a complaint alt-mode.

“What number?” Tarn asked.

“Twenty-six,” Kaon responded.

Tarn made a hum of approval before turning to her, “Electraceae, you should go down to the cargohold, I’m sure you’re eager to leave.”

“Is there a place to strap in?”

“I assure you, our landing will not be as violent as your last.”

She had no other option than to leave them to their scheming. 

There was no one in the cargo hold. Not even Vos. No one was going to send her off. That would at least give her a hefty head start. 

Once they touched down, she opened her comms and transformed into her alt. Her tires were a ill-suited in rural Cybertronian space but she still got a bit of speed up. 

Her comm systems got a familiar ping.

.:Sending global positioned coordinates:.

She received a location and turned her wheels, avoiding what Cybertronian landscape she could. 

Silverwing was a tall, sleek seeker with a bird silver grey alt mode. He was easy to pick out against the dark blue trees and naturally made spires. 

She transformed and greeted him.

"I'm so glad to see you," she told him.

“Electra, I’m so glad you’re alive. Especially considering...who you were with.” He talked in a low murmur, as if the world was listening, “Were you followed?”  
  


“I don’t know.”

“You probably were, come here.”

Silverwing enveloped her in a gentle hug, the first real one she’d had in awhile, it didn’t last long enough.

“We have to leave, I have a ship close by, we need to take off. I’ve already sent word to Cybertron about this. Even if we don’t get far, they’ll know-”

The impact came before the crack of sniper fire echoed in the space and she felt Silverwing crumple. She tried to brace him but he pushed her away. She saw the long scorch mark on his frame; they crippled his wing engine, if he transformed he wouldn’t go anywhere fast. Why didn’t they just kill him?

Another crack of gun fire but if it was aimed at them, it missed.

“Silverwing.”

“Run.”

“No,” she said desperately, “I can’t leave you they’ll kill you.”

“They’ll do a lot worse to me first,” Silverwing whispered to her in a fever, “I don’t want you to see that. You’re...you’re not built for it.”

She lingered in his hug, holding his care for her close.

“I won’t leave you.”

“The ship is programmed to autopilot back to Cybertron, get on it. It’s much faster than theirs. Please,” he took a breath, “It would make me happy.”

He transferred the coordinates to her. She hated it, she really did. But she transformed and her wheels kicked up dirt and she tried to put as much distance between them as possible.

There was nothing to hear, no footfalls or sound of an engine. Midway through her journey she thought to go back, to see if he was alright. 

She drifted into the clearing, using the friction of the planet’s surface to stop herself. 

Tarn stood in front of the small ship kicking at the ground. The ship's engine smoldered; the target of the second shot. 

Electraceae remembered that ‘please’ in their first meeting and transformed into her alt mode.

“They’ll be along soon,” he said, “You could run if you wanted. You’re no longer our guest.”

“Is the punishment the same?”

“Perhaps.”

Kaon showed up next but said nothing to her. It was almost like he was gloating. 

She ignored it, “What are you going to do to him?”

“What is appropriate for his crimes,” Tarn responded. 

“You can’t hurt him.”

“It is no concern of yours,” he interrupted, “You have no information for us and we’ve taken you to your exile. You can peacefully remain here with regular visits from the false Cybertronian council. Should you wish to leave, you may do so then. We can’t risk him escaping.”

The noise of treads and movement. Helex came into view first with Vos in his alt mode, when they reached the ship, Vos transformed out. 

Next came Tesarus and Silverwing. Electraceae ran to him; it looked like they hurt him more since she left. It hadn’t even been that long, maybe a dozen clicks. His leg looked like it had melted. 

“Don’t touch it,” he warned.

“What happened?”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t...I underestimated them.”

“It’s okay.”

She heard the familiar bass of Tarn’s footsteps and her friend’s attention went elsewhere. 

“Please,” Silverwing limped as he stood up in front of her, “She isn’t even weapon capable, please-” 

“That’s enough,” Tarn said. He looked down at her, “Are you truly incapable of weaponized function?”

Electraceae nodded.

“Kinda takes the fun out of it,” Tesarus said from behind him.

Tarn grinned behind the slit in his faceplate before watching Kaon grasp one of Silverwing’s feather flaps and twist it. 

For his part, Silverwing grit his teeth and only made a grunt of pain. He remained standing as he pleaded, “Please, she isn’t built for this. Just let her go.”

“We can’t do that, can we, Electraceae?”

It was a gentle voice but it made Silverwing’s frame shudder. Tarn grabbed her shoulder plating and she cried out in pain which made Silverwing lurch forward and grab his wrist.

“I’ll be gentler,” Tarn said softly as he pulled Electraceae away, “Besides, you said you didn’t want her to see this.”

Kaon took her arm and drew her close, his digits like pincers. 

“Electraceae, do you intend to interfere?”

“She doesn’t,” Silverwing answered for her, “She doesn’t know who you are or what you’re capable of. Please, just take her away.”

“Tarn, please don’t kill him.”

“Oh, it will be some time before we kill him,” Helex pointed out.

Electraceae couldn’t stop Kaon from pulling her no matter how hard she struggled. He sparked at her a few times, but she ignored it. Her inhibitor easily acted like a breaker against his small attacks. She watched as Tesarus gave a few test spins of his gaping rows of teeth. 

“I know,” she shouted.

Everyone stopped.

“You know what?”

“I know where Megatron is.”

Tarn remained very calm, “A desperate bluff to save your friend.”

“No, you’re right. A ship left after that concert with no destination coordinates but I didn’t. The ship carried Megatron and enough energon to last him decades.”

“Where?”

She trembled as she spoke, “You can’t torture him please.”

Tarn spoke louder this time, “Where?”

Silverwing tried to speak up but he was silenced when Tesarus pulled at him. Tarn lifted his servo and Tesarus stepped back, easing up his rotary teeth and grumbling softly to himself.

Electraceae took a deep breath, “My home planet.”

“Are you lying, song box?”

She shook her helm, “I don’t know where it is on a map but I know how to get there. I know what it looks like. Please, let him go.”

“Thank you,” Tarn told her, “I’m glad we’re able to become friends.”

Tarn fluidly raised his canon and shot Silverwing’s helm into nothingness.

“What in _the pit,_ Tarn!”

She ignored Tesarus. Electraceae could feel her friend’s comforting field ebb away. Kaon let her go as her pedes gave out beneath her. 

An argument started, but she couldn’t pay attention. All she could hear was a ringing noise in her processor. 

Tarn picked her up by the scruff and threw her over his shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Tarn wants to talk Electraceae to death he'd have to get his voice high with helium and talk like a chipmunk and he's too much of a pussy to do that.


	5. True Love's Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **not beta-read**
> 
> Honestly, this chapter was rushed because I want to get to the next chapters. Sorry.

The D.J.D. felt cheated.

Silverwing’s punishment wasn’t enough. That could never be forgiven. Even Tarn questioned his own decision. Luckily, Electraceae’s exile planet was close to a surprisingly populated stronghold of Decepticon traitors. It was a perfectly executed excursion that dispelled any displeasure from his crew. He almost brought Electraceae along so she could watch what she should have seen on Paradron. 

But Tarn fixated on it. Kaon helped him work out his own punishment, but it didn’t erase what happened. Was it her ability that inspired a mercy killing? Or was it influenced by the traitor’s words? Everyone else was perfectly inspired by the idea of Electraceae struggling to stop his torture. But Tarn had taken away that prize. He wanted to know why.

But she wasn’t being cooperative. She didn’t even make an entertaining victim. She didn’t speak. Although they took the time to retrieve more fuel she didn’t drink any. She didn’t even move. But then again, the only member allowed into her cell was Tarn. 

It just wasn’t in their programming to take prisoners. When they carried her back after she refused to transform, they’d forgotten the code to open the cell door. Vos was right, she was still where they laid her, her back turned to the entrance of the cell. Tarn easily unlocked the cell door and left it open. 

He watched for any minute movement but none came. He brought her fuel inside, still not closing the cell door. Placing the fuel next to her, he squatted down to get on her level. Then he touched her, thinking that she would pull away. Still no reaction.

Like a plaything, he turned her around and sat her up against the wall so she faced him. Her visor was dim. With how long they’d been out, he wondered if she even functioned or if she was in impermanent recharge. 

Tarn slid his protective faceplate aside. Nothing. Even at the sight of his face she didn’t stir.

“Sometimes, I take this off and pretend that it is the reflection of Megatron’s cause. Especially when I face incredibly difficult decisions.” He murmured, “Because it isn’t him, but those ideals that keep us strong.”

“Did he make you I wonder? Why did he seek out your help?”

The Autobot’s prone death mask didn’t give any answers.

He grabbed her whole face wrenching her helm to look at him. Tarn had to concentrate, to imagine that  _ this _ was Megatron’s ideal frame, even though it didn’t line up with his darkest fantasies. Why wouldn’t he? She was flimsy and had an intentional kink in her waist plate to accent the curve of her fender. A cold construct with an emphasis on looks.

Tarn leaned in to kiss her.

He heard a soft hum;her mod booted up, maybe it was field activated. Her servos darted up but he caught them, careful not to crush them in his trap. Even with the visor on, he could tell she was upset.

“No.”

He leaned back and placed his faceplate back on his helm, “Drink your fuel. I have some planets I want you to look through when I come back.”

He stood up and turned to the cell field, wondering if she would try to start a fight, but she just pulled the cube towards her.

Tarn commed Kaon, who met him in the hallway.

“I want you to culminate a list of planets within the A5 sector.”

“All of them?”

“No, just ones with organic life.”

Kaon looked surprised, “That’s going to be a lot, there is a gas giant with almost forty seven habitable moons on alone. I’ll link it to your onboard.”

Tarn nodded then returned to her cell.

He found an empty cube that was kicked outside the cell field.

“Do you need more?”

“I don’t know, are you going to assault me again?”

He didn’t answer. They sat in silence, Electraceae now fully charged. She was starting to show anger too. He couldn’t wait to see how much she fought.

Kaon finished the upload. There were a considerable amount of planets. Some had never been visited, only photographed as a voyager satellite passed by or had an unfinished blurb about what the air was made of.

Tarn isolated to planets Cybertronians hadn’t landed on, he projected a bright yellow-green planet into the cell.

“Is this your home planet?”

“No.”

He clicked through to the next, “This?”

“No.”

The third time he asked, she didn’t respond but she didn’t show any signs of recognizing it. After the sixteenth one, she spoke.

“You didn’t have to kill him.”

Tarn vented, “Yes, we did. I received a lot of guff from Tesarus as it was his turn-”

“His  _ turn _ ?” she seethed but she didn’t continue.

“We take our duties very seriously,” Tarn responded, “I killed him on your behalf.”

_ “What?” _

Tarn swiped through to show her another planet, “This one has mostly gilled creatures but it’s a possibility.”

“You know why I don’t have any weapons, right?”

Tarn tried to ignore her.

“Because I’m Megatron’s future,” she placed her hand on her chest, “And people like you, you’re not allowed with people like me.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tarn returned calmly. “We are aware of our place.”

“Oh? You know Megatron and I have a very  _ deep _ relationship. And after that night, you know, I knew we were meant to bring Cybertron to peace. He called me the true embodiment of the Decepticon cause. He said, him, me and Ratchet? We were going to rebuild Cybertron the right way.”

“Ratchet?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? Your sources didn’t tell you? Who do you think helped me get him off the planet?”

You didn’t need to be an empath to know Tarn was angry. He paced in front of her cell.

He could be angrier. Her insulator mod whined with the overwork of suppressing both his and her emotive state. Channelling his rage away ensured he wouldn’t put his fist through her axle, although her shoulder panel still sent harsh pings grating enough to make the whole servo twinge.

“You lie.”

“Why would I?” She snarled.

He snarled back and smashed at the unlocking keypad. It beeped out an error so she pushed her luck. If he was going to get mad about that she would make him mad about something that mattered.

“Megatron doesn’t even think about you or the war. He’s happy where he is. He doesn’t  _ want _ to rule Cybertron.”

Tarn was beyond words, snarling incomprehensibly, but she couldn’t stop talking now.

“Megatron knew the war was stupid and if he continued he knew Cybertron would never find peace. He gave Cybertron its  _ best  _ future, without him. I’m the Decepticon future and I’m an  _ Autobot. _ ”

Two very bad things happened at once.

Her insulator failed.

  
And Tarn got the door unlocked.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **not-betaread**

But he didn’t close it.

He rushed her, no warbuild should rush a speed frame. It was also a mistake with her failed insulator. She blasted out the pain in her armor in full radius, but it didn’t slow him down as much as she’d hoped. He roared in pain but continued his running blitz.

If she hadn’t moved she’d be dead.

He transformed and her metal almost melded with his. It was time to give up the advantage of small space as she slid over his half created alt form and out into the hall. 

She transformed faster than she ever had but Tarn was faster than she expected. He quickly undid his transformation and was in the hall right behind her and she didn’t want to guess what he would do once she was caught.

Luckily, the rest of the DJD were on their way. Either to stop her or him she didn’t care. She accelerated hard to Vos. He’d be the easiest to knock down.

Transforming, she slammed into him. She dented, he didn’t, but he tried to hold her. She snarled out the word. The element of surprise loosened his grip enough for her to get loose. Vos and Tesarus would have to decide if the tank rumbling hot on her heels was something they wanted to get in front of. Maybe that hesitation would stall them all.

But Vos slowed her more than she thought. The hot scorch of pain flared before the sound of Tarn firing echoed in the cramped bottleneck of the brig hall. She dispelled the pain, her spark spinning too fast to waste time on the heat bloom.

Tarn’s blast opened a hole in the hull. She only had a beat of fifteen seconds before the ship’s auto-seal would create a field. Outside beckoned her and she almost stepped out into freedom, into somewhere she could hide. 

But then she thought about Silverwing. How many of the people she loved outside of the safety of Cybertron would die in Tarn’s servos because of her?

There was only one place on the ship to hide and slow down Tarn. She spared a look at Tesarus and Vos who were doing their best to hold Tarn back with shouts. 

It was an old voice that pushed her to the bridge. It was the stronghold of the ship. The pilot and system log needed to survive a crash. So that was the best place to hide. There was a manual lock on the door if she needed to make it a permanent hiding spot. 

But in her flight she forgot there were more members of the DJD.

Kaon pulled on her audial fin, her real one so she felt the fracture as it cracked. Energy crackled around them and it made her spark quicken how impassive he was despite his obvious intent to injure her.

“You cannot imagine my anticipation for when he tears you apart.”

“He’s too busy tearing apart the ship.”

She’d never been this sardonic in her life.

Kaon released her by pushing her down and aimed a swift kick. She didn’t even bother locking the door or standing. She twisted her attachment magnet and her mod disengaged. 

Her bad optic was oozing out yellow liquid. That was new. But there was no time to inspect it. She restarted her visor. It powered back up and she quickly magnetized it under her real audial before clicking it back into place. 

By some miracle it was still working. Sort of. It wouldn’t survive another beating. Or even her feeding her emotions away or into Tarn. The only system still operable was the dampener. She would have to remove the mod to defend herself. 

Her tanks warned that her fuel levels were in half. She wouldn’t survive a siege anytime soon. There was no choice but to wait to be dragged away.   
  


It made her feel like she was still on her home planet, just attacked by scavengers. She’d hid just like this in the Autobot ship. There was only one way she coped: humming soft songs to herself in a language no one would know. They weren’t her songs, crafted in neocybex with tin melodies behind them. They were the organic songs that reminded her of home. She sat in total darkness and hummed them to herself. 

Time slipped away in increments of repeated choruses. She started when she felt the servo on her helm; the gentle pets of Vos. 

She recoiled but he dropped down as if to soothe her, making soft words at her until she allowed him to come close. She refused to budge out of her hiding spot, so he came in hugging her to him gently.

Vos dug his digits into her scorch marks. She cried out but quickly bit down into his neck cabling to shut herself up. Some yellow liquid splattered on his clavicle armor but he ignored it. He pet a different part of her, making noises as if he was apologetic. But it was easier to drag her out now that she was more focused on pain.

He continued to drag her from the bridge. Helex waited outside for them. He thought he spoke lowly but speaking lowly to Vos meant speaking lowly to her as well.

“Kaon and Tesarus are with Tarn, what are you going to do?”

Vos shrugged before speaking with a heavy accent, “Medics.”

“Why would we want that?” Helex retorted.

He was being cautious. So Tarn had told them about her ability. Maybe he thought she was influencing Vos. But it was the truth that he was this much of a freak all on his own. 

Electraceae raised her helm, her mod screamed with effort as she met Helex’s optics. Maybe it was the field or the yellow goop still oozing out from beneath her visor but something made him take a step back.

She let her helm fall back onto Vos’ shoulder.

“What happened to your shoulder, Vos?”

“No,” Vos replied, “Thing.”

Electraceae, after Tarn, probably disliked Vos the most. He had her figured out from the very moment he pulled her from that stasis pod. When she finally managed to get her pedes steady, he let her walk. Helex trailed behind them, distrusting the two of them together.

“We don’t have any medical supplies to spare for her.”

“Tahrn.”

Electraceae felt the doubt like physical contact. Vos steadied her gently. 

“Okay but I’m still coming.”

Vos ignored him as they walked steadily to the med bay. She put up with Helex’s constant complaint because it distracted her from the mech beside her.

When they got there, Vos helped her up onto the medical berth. He puttered around, looking for what he needed. Helex watched from the door. When Vos returned with a canister, she chose to speak.

“What happened to Tarn?”

Vos shrugged before unscrewing the top. Facing her, he leaned over one shoulder to smear the nanite gel on her back. When his digits touched, she figured out why he wanted to do it this awkward way. When his digits pushed roughly into her scorch wound, she lurched forward clasping her to him. A small screech of pain came out before she bit down on him again to quiet the noise.

The tension in the room raised slightly, both of Vos’ servos were on her as her denta grated against his cabling. One pushed nanite gel into her wound while the other one gently rubbed on her uninjured shoulder. The burning sensation faded and she released the tension in her jaw. But Vos didn’t let her rest for long.

He purposefully pushed his digits as deep into the wound as he could. One would argue it was so the nanobots carefully weaving themselves into her live metal could do their work the best. But Vos just wanted to see how loud she’d scream.

This time she didn’t make anything, just dug her denta into the gaps of his armor.

Vos pressed her closely, tilting his helm so she could get at the cabling and gave a soft sigh of satisfaction. Once the pain faded she pulled back, trying to intake cooling air to combat the burning sensation running through her frame.

“Do this someplace else,” Helex muttered disgustedly as he abandoned his post.

Vos waiting until his pedesteps faded before pulling away from her. He pat her head chastely before trailing a digit to her visor before tapping on it. She flipped the latch to unlock it before pressing in the dial. The visor loosened and Vos helped the exhausted motor along by pushing in up into its housing. He frowned at her weeping optic, wiping away the yellow liquid.

“Is that my damage?”

At Tarn’s voice she turned her faceplate away from the door. Vos let her hide herself as she re-positioned her visor. The last thing she wanted was for him to see his old wounds mirrored by hers. 

Vos spoke to Tarn casually.

“Vos said you spoke Primal Vernacular.”

Electraceae didn’t respond, she stayed turned away from him.

“He said you told-” Tarn hrmmed, “Rather commanded him to not touch you. So you had to understand it.”

She turned her head slightly back but didn’t respond.

“I don’t expect you to give me any courtesy. I lost my temper but you must agree you had a helping servo with that.”

Vos forced her helm up. She vented before turning and focusing on Tarn's pedes.

“I am disappointed.” Tarn said.

He wasn’t.

“I feel betrayed.”

He wasn’t that either.

“But I understand and forgive you.”

Electraceae kept her temper but looked confused up at Vos who pat her helm.

Tarn brought out her fuel and Vos walked to him to help pour it into a cylinder. The cube must’ve broke in the fight. Tarn refused to walk to her, using Vos as a courier. They both watched her drink. Once she finished, he spoke again.

“I’m giving you to Vos.”

“I didn’t run,” she protested.

“That is not punishment for running,” Tarn said evenly, “He seems to be the only one that can teach you anything.”

With that, Tarn left.

Her pedes started to tremble. 

Vos put his forehead on hers. He was a little bigger but they were pretty much the same stature with her on the medical berth. He saw the tremble of her pedes and placed a gentle servo on them, to feel the vibrations of fear. He made an out of tune hum. 

She sang it back to him and he placed his audial on her chest. She didn’t know what else to do but hold her servos at the ready. 

When she stopped singing he lifted his helm back up and spoke. It wasn’t the language in her head but she clumsily repeated the word back. He offered her a servo and hauled her on her feet.

He spoke again, very slowly. Electraceae repeated it slowly first, and then quickly, copying his inflections. Vos rubbed his thumb digit over her lips and repeated something else. She knew it was a dangerous game. No mech ever touched her like that with innocent intention.

She repeated the phrase and she knew he was happy. He rubbed her fractured audial fin playfully before leading her away.

____

She wasn't a bad medic, not really. She was just a medic who wanted to serve the underserved. Criminals couldn’t go to the doctor. Plus they paid well for scrap work and not asking questions.

But no one ever brought her someone this recognizable.

The idol’s visor was cracked and it was obvious her sensory data wasn’t reading properly from that alone. But she seemed high off of boosters, if not something else.

Normally she would tell the client to frag off and leave such a mess of a patient, especially an Autobot, but this was the DJD.  But they’d never brought her a patient outside of the five of them. Especially not one that looked slightly tortured.

“I don’t know what you want me to do with this, Tarn.”

He handed over the shillix, “I ask that you do your best.”

She filled up her tanks with energon, fixed the cracked paint and cosmetic body damage. She couldn’t do anything about the visor.

“This mod? This is Ratchet’s handy work and I can’t mess with that. He might be general practice but on the field he learned some wild scrap.”

“I see, thank you for your help.”

Tarn left her and she paid special attention to where their ship went and she wondered why she felt so compelled to report it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued in Triphase.


End file.
